When even the giants are having to scrape by and Hollywood is only making money off of Beverly Hill Shithuahua or whatever, what makes you think that Walt Disney's namesake would be immune?

Sure, Pixar is great and everything, and High School Musical is a juggernaut of acceptable tween sexuality, but those movies come out once or twice a year, max. And with less money to fill up their car and eat out with, how many families are going to have to cut back on their trip to the money pit Disneyworld this year?

The only thing that would have been surprising then, is if Disney hadn't reported a 13% loss this quarter.

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High School Musical, that insanely popular tween juggernaut, finally (finally?) made it into theatres with its third installment, High School Musical: Senior Year. Great?

But whether or not you care about Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens and um, whoever else is in that series, Disney is still able to milk approximately $100 million from these dancing, singing, annoyingly versatile Miley Cyrus wannabes and their franchise, but not for much longer.

See, as you get older kids, you start to grow hair in funny places, your voice cracks, and not even the most die-hard HSM fans can be expected to suspend their disbelief that Zefron still hasn't graduated high school yet (he is already 21, btw).

So the big question for Disney execs is: Can they replace the cast of High School with some more Disney-made stars, or will we have to follow the same kids till Retirement Home: The Musical?

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Meet Bo Burnham, YouTube sensation (not of the Chris Crocker variety) and the latest member of the Judd Apatow family. This kid just turned 18 and he's already been tapped to write the music for — and star in — a new Apatow comedy that is being billed as "the anti-High School Musical." Sounds awesome already.

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Good news, fame-seeking kids and the parents looking to make them into bit part actors! In the same vein as Sprint looking for average citizens to make user-generated commercials while plugging its new Instinct phone, Kmart wants kids to make their own 30- to 60-second spots explaining how they're achieving their back to school style with the downmarket retailer. It's all part of a contest tied to ABC's reality show High School Musical: Get in the Picture, with the winning ad airing during the show's finale. The winner also gets a trip to New York City (to visit Kmart), a $1,000 gift card (to Kmart), and a a Flip Video Ultra camcorder (available at Kmart!). Videographer's block? "If you need more inspiration, head to Kmart and check out the clothes," advises the helpful intro video. So, what have America's future human produce placements come up with?

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Having just wrapped the third edition of High School Musical, stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Monique Coleman, Corbin Bleu, and Lucas Grabeel will not return for the fourth installment of the Disney blockbuster. Neither will their faux-mances. [USA Today]

Nick Lachey, who made a career out of banging Jessica Simpson, will host ABC's High School Musical reality TV show spin-off High School Musical: Summer Session, so he can continue bankrolling his current claim to fame: banging Vanessa Minnillo.[AP]

Hang on to your Zac Efron — the Disney Channel is ramping up for a fourth cycle of High School Musical. The second edition, which aired last summer, racked up 18.6 million viewers. The third edition hasn't even been released yet, but when it is, it'll first be seen at the multiplex, not your living room. But now that the original cast of the lucrative show is busy with other projects, like sending naked photos of themselves and fighting off gay rumors, don't expect the original cast to return. "At least one approach that's been floated for a High School Musical 4 would simply be to go with a largely new cast and employ a plot that takes place in an early year in high school, opening the possibility for more sequels with new stars" and more forever pre-pubescent leads!

Not only is teen queen Vanessa Hudgens is back on board for the sequel to Disney's mega hit, High School Musical 2," (a yet-to-shoot flick cleverly entitled High School Musical 3) but she's reportedly back with a "substantial" pay raise!

Apparently, instead of the child star's offscreen antics (Read: Highly circulated topless photos) tarnishing her image, they only seemed to increase her appeal, particularly among the "bored older brothers who were forced to sit through the hokey Disney sensation by their bratty your sibling" demographic.

Frankly, we're just glad this story has a happy ending. And relieved to see that Nessy's "assets" are finally getting the appreciation (and monetary compensation) that they deserve.

Today In Thompson is our semi-regular report on Syracuse University pop culture professor and professional quotation Robert Thompson — and the press' endless appetite to engage him in soundbite. Multiple times a day, you can find Thompson expounding on this celebrity or that TV show, ad infinitum. More to the point, it shows how lazy we can be in showing how lazy journalists can be when it comes to getting "insight" from "experts."

Oh no, it's been over a month since our last Today In Thompson. But fret not, concerned Syracuse University trustees: It's not for lack of material. On any given day, you'll find Bobby T. making the press rounds. Like today, for example.

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