EXCLUSIVE: 'High School Musical' Turns 10 Years Old! Cast Reflects on Surprise Disney Smash

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Disney/ABC Television

Where did the time go?!

Wednesday marks High School Musical's 10 year anniversary, the wildly successful 2006 Disney Channel musical that launched the careers of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ashley Tisdale. Nearly the entire original cast -- though sadly, not Efron -- recently met up for a special telecast to celebrate the milestone, and ET has exclusive new pics of the heartwarming reunion.

WATCH: Ashley Tisdale Opens Up About 'High School Musical' Reunion -- 'We All Still Love Each Other'

Check out the East High Wildcats looking closer than ever.

Disney/ABC Television
Disney/ABC Television

The cast opened up about the movie's enduring appeal, which reached over 100 million viewers and spawned two sequels.

"The fact is, music is universal," Hudgens, who played Gabriella Montez, says in an ET exclusive sneak peek. "Everyone can pick up a melody and sing along and it makes you feel good. I think that it was just so iconic and one of those musical moments that people don't forget because of the joy that it brings the audience."

"The fact that so many children went off and did High School Musical at their school theaters, and still do, and that we did something that allowed children to express themselves is so beautiful," the 27-year-old adds. “I grew up watching musicals, so it was a dream come true to star in a musical."

Disney/ABC Television

Coleman, who played Taylor McKessie, echoes her costar's sentiment.

"As a little girl growing up watching movies I said, 'Someday I hope I could do something like that or be in something like that,'" Coleman reflects. "To be in this and have this in my career and in my life and the friendships and the family that we really are it’s just unbelievable. To think that there is another generation of kids that is going to get to have this magic and have this experience all over again is really exciting."

As for favorite scenes in the film, 30-year-old Tisdale, who played Sharpay Evans, says her personal choice is the over-the-top "Bop to the Top" number she performed with actor Lucas Grabeel (who played her brother, Ryan Evans).

But don't worry Troy Bolton fans! Efron, 28, is set to appear in a prerecorded message to the show's fans. The actor couldn't attend because the reunion conflicted with his schedule of promoting his upcoming film, Dirty Grandpa.


HSM
's special anniversary telecast airs tonight at 8 p.m. on the Disney Channel.

ET caught up with Tisdale last week, when she shared that the cast is still super close.

Disney/ABC Television

"I just love that we all still love each other, and love hanging out with each other, and have that connection, you know?" she said. "It was a really special moment in our lives."

WATCH: Zac Efron Struggles to Remember the Name of a 'High School Musical' Tune

Watch the video below to see Tisdale play our game of High School Musical Graduation Superlatives, in which she chose Efron as the cast member most likely to win an Oscar someday!