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Where Are They Now? (The DCOM Fanfic)
37 Plays3 months ago
Ever wonder what Galleria of the Cheetah Girls, Ryan Evans, or Andy "Brink" Brinker are doing in 2025? Same. So we made it up. This mini-sode is our extremely fictional, occasionally unhinged update of where your favorite DCOM characters are now.
From zombie senators and magical escape rooms to Broadway choreographers and billion-dollar nap apps, we’re giving them the post-credit endings they deserve. It’s part fanfic, part fever dream 😅
✨ Once Upon A DCOM is your favorite nostalgic rewatch podcast where we rave (and sometimes roast) every Disney Channel Original Movie ever made.
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Transcript
Introduction and New Segment
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey friends, welcome back to Once Upon a DCOM. This is mini-sode number three in our series of mini-sodes in between seasons two and three. So exciting to have you back. Today, have a really special treat, something we haven't done before.
00:00:13
Speaker
We are going to be talking about where are they now, fictional edition. So we're going to be taking one character from each movie that we've watched in season two. We're going to go back and forth and Natalie and are going to share where we think the character would be now in 2025.
00:00:28
Speaker
Sounds like a great time, right? It's going to be so much fun. We had a blast writing these. This is going to be amazing. This was the most fun I think I've ever had on this podcast. Okay, are you ready?
00:00:41
Speaker
I'm ready. Kick us off strong with Minutemen.
Where Are They Now: Charlie Tuttle
00:00:44
Speaker
Yep. So first up, I chose child genius Charlie Tuttle. Good. Yes. Yes. So in the year of our Lord, 2025, Charlie would be 31 years old.
00:00:54
Speaker
He obviously works at NASA, who has forgiven him for hacking their computer systems when he was 14 years old. Straight out of high school, the government tried to recruit him for some deep top secret government stuff, but he chose instead to go to college and try to, quote, be normal.
00:01:11
Speaker
He went to Stanford. He got his undergrad, his graduate, and his doctorate degrees in under five years because our homie works hard. um He studied quantum physics, electromagnetism, and strangely, modern dance.
00:01:24
Speaker
And that's where Charlie Tuttle is now.
00:01:28
Speaker
I just love the things you throw in there. You know, you got to keep it spicy. He liked ah he there was a cute girl in class. He wanted to hang out with her modern dance. You know, sure, sure. I love it. I love I feel like he'd be best friends with like the Big Bang Theory crew.
00:01:44
Speaker
Of course, yes. Yeah, that's great. Okay, Gabby, can you um tell us about Frenemies?
Avalon Green's Rebound Moment
00:01:51
Speaker
Oh, I got a terrible first one, but it gets better and better.
00:01:54
Speaker
So I chose Avalon Green, which was Bella Thorne's character. Okay, sure. yeah After the high school era success of their teen blog, Geekly Chic, Avalon turned her fashion-forward type A personality into building a Gen Z lifestyle empire, which crashed spectacularly in 2021 when her fashion startup style chain was exposed as a pyramid scheme run by her ex-boyfriend.
00:02:19
Speaker
But not to fear, she bounced back hard. In 2025, she is now a trend forecaster and digital etiquette coach, working with public figures help them- Digital etiquette.
00:02:30
Speaker
Uh-huh. Yeah, she's helping public figures say sorry in the comments before it's too late. And she still texts with her BFF Hallie every year on their friendiversary. I love that.
00:02:42
Speaker
That's so funny. You are so funny, Gabby.
00:02:46
Speaker
Thank you, thank you. Okay, next up I have Teen Beach Movie.
Brady's Californian Dream
00:02:51
Speaker
And I picked a Brady, played by Ross Lynch. um So we all know that he loves old movies. So surprise, he went into academia.
00:03:00
Speaker
He's actually a film studies professor at a small community college in Northern California. He still surfs. He is married to whatever that girl from the movie's name is.
00:03:11
Speaker
They're married. um And they have three kids and they all surf. It's cute. And he's a film studies professor. Oh, I love Oh, film studies. Perfect. Such a creative job with that, Natalie.
00:03:23
Speaker
Thank you. Yeah. All right. Moving on to Descendants.
Evie's Leadership Journey
00:03:28
Speaker
I, of course, chose my absolute favorite character, Evie, played by Sophia Carson. And y'all know that for a long time I've been saying Evie for Queen. So this was my opportunity, but I didn't go quite that far. Here we go.
00:03:39
Speaker
After graduating from Auradon Prep, Evie went on to found Evie's United, an international initiative dedicated to helping kids from both the Isle and Auradon build confidence through their creativity, fashion, and entrepreneurship.
00:03:52
Speaker
In 2023, she was named the High Chancellor of the United Realms Council of Reformation, making her the first VK to hold public office. yeah Queen.
00:04:02
Speaker
Okay. I know. She has championed fair access to education and de-villainizing public narratives. By 2025, she's a beloved global figure, part policy queen, part fashion mongrel, part fairy godmother, as she always wanted to be.
00:04:19
Speaker
And yes, Doug is still by her side. They're married and he's now Minister of Music and Archives at Auradon Prep, where he teaches music by day, preserves the royal history at night, and occasionally gets roped into student musicals as the cool faculty cameo.
00:04:34
Speaker
Oh my gosh, I love that. For both of them. That's incredible. You got a little double there. Oh, so cute. Okay. Yeah. All right. Next up, I have Rip
Sydney's Conservation Efforts
00:04:44
Speaker
Girls. um I picked Sydney, our main girl, mostly because I couldn't remember any other character solidly enough. So.
00:04:51
Speaker
Okay. Sounds great. Sydney and her family stayed in Hawaii for her to grow up there at the old plantation house. And then she ended up going to the University of Hawaii at Manoa and she studied environmental science and marine biology.
00:05:05
Speaker
She now owns a nonprofit that focuses on educating tourists about ocean conservation while they're visiting the island. She is still friends with all of her her surfing buddies, and occasionally they meet up on the weekends to hang out all as a big ohana.
00:05:21
Speaker
That is so sweet. I really like that future for her. I know. She deserves it. Oh, great job.
Jamie's Creative Success
00:05:28
Speaker
Well, mine isn't nearly as happy because we're moving on to Quince. Oh, no. Oh, no.
00:05:33
Speaker
Yeah. So obviously i picked Jamie, Kimberly J. Brown's character, because who else in that movie mattered? so I mean, you're right, but...
00:05:46
Speaker
So Jamie spent most of her childhood trying not to get overshadowed by the five siblings. Now she 39. thirty nine She is a children's book illustrator and author. She used her artistic skills...
00:05:58
Speaker
She's known for her quirky, heartwarming stories about big families, messy feelings, and finding magic in the ordinary. Her breakout book, Middle of Everything, became a quiet bestseller and was even adapted into a limited animated series.
00:06:12
Speaker
As for the Quints, they are now 25 because this movie came out in 2000 and took place in 2000. Gross. So they're 25. Ew. They're off living their own colorful, crazy lives. ah Jamie stays in touch mostly through a group chat that she muted several years ago.
00:06:28
Speaker
She loves them.
00:06:31
Speaker
She loves them. She does. But being who she was, the big sister who kind faded into the background, left a scar. So her next book is about a girl who learns that being fine isn't the same as being seen.
00:06:43
Speaker
The end. Wow. I would read that book. I know, right? Okay. Next up, I have High School Musical 2.
Ryan's Choreography Triumph
00:06:50
Speaker
I can't. I'm so excited. Who do you think? Who do you think I picked?
00:06:55
Speaker
I think you picked Ryan, but I'm kind of hoping you pick Sharpay. I picked Ryan. You know me too well. Okay. So he's a fun one. Buckle up. Wait, wait. Is he buried to Chad?
00:07:08
Speaker
I can't tell you yet. Oh my gosh. Okay. Okay. So he went to Juilliard, obviously, spoiler alert, I guess, for High School Musical 3. um He went to Juilliard and he studied choreography.
00:07:20
Speaker
He didn't actually graduate though. Because the summer after his first year, he got picked up to assist and choreograph a workshop of the revival of the musical Fame headed to Broadway.
00:07:32
Speaker
What? Which Fame, of course, is a famous musical all about high school musicals. So it works. Love it um He has been working consistently since then.
00:07:44
Speaker
he has become one of the most in-demand choreographers in the industry. He has earned two Tony nominations for his choreography with rumors that he will be getting another nomination later this year.
00:07:55
Speaker
so excited for him. He's also been a judge on Dancing with the Stars, of course, guest judge. I knew it. I was like, you better incorporate this. Of course, of course he has been a guest judge on that. Come on, on the Disney night for like no reason because like why would he have a connection to Disney? But you know it's just for fun. you know yeah Anyway, um lastly, he came out as gay in 2020.
00:08:18
Speaker
During the pandemic, he really decided he was done hiding who he really was. And he married his best friend, Giancarlo, who is chorus dancer from Broadway in a private ceremony at Walt Disney World in front of Cinderella's castle.
00:08:35
Speaker
This is the most perfect Where Are They Now? I so wish this was real. I know, right? ah Anyway, so everyone watch the Tony Awards in 2026 and you will see if Ryan wins his Tony.
00:08:49
Speaker
That was brilliant. I think the private ceremony at Disney was my favorite part. Yeah, because it tracks, right? It tracks. It does. It's exactly what would happen. It's giving Jordan Fisher. It's giving Jordan Fisher, but more gay.
00:09:01
Speaker
Yes. Okay. Love it. So for our next one, Wizards of Waverly Place the movie.
Wizards' Career Paths
00:09:07
Speaker
This is unique in that this show has gotten a reboot series, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, taking place in the current year, 2025. You know, I didn't think about that when – We were doing this episode. You're so right.
00:09:20
Speaker
Yeah. So I'm just going to give you guys like a three sentence overview of where the three main siblings are now based on the show. So you can just at least see where they ended up. But this is canon. This is real. I didn't make this up.
00:09:32
Speaker
Okay. So Justin, now in his mid thirties, balances being a husband, a father and a wizard. He's vice principal at Greenwald Middle School by day and a secret wizard mentor by night.
00:09:43
Speaker
So that's cool. Alex has matured a little. We know how much that you hate Alex. It's okay. You can tell us. thisna Yeah, i don't like her. ah But she's now a member of the Wizard Tribunal. She serves as a rule enforcer and legal authority for the wizarding world.
00:10:00
Speaker
very ironic twist as someone who always broke the rules as a kid. I don't know they did that. Yeah, was going to ah She pops in from the magical world time to time to offer cryptic advice and stir up trouble and occasionally drop a truth bomb when things are about to fall apart. So really, nothing's changed since the series for her.
00:10:18
Speaker
And finally, this, I was like, I couldn't have made this up if I wanted to. Max has embraced a mortal life with surprising success. He's inherited the family sandwich shop.
00:10:29
Speaker
Yeah, because he lost. Justin and Alex get to keep their powers and he becomes immortal. And he becomes and Why does he become immortal? Amortal.
00:10:40
Speaker
He is immortal. I'm so sorry. Okay, please continue. This makes much more sense to me now. Okay. Yeah, for those of you who don't know, Alex wins, but then they deem that Justin is worthy of keeping his magic alive.
00:10:53
Speaker
And like ah he became the principal of the school or something, and Max gets the sub shop. That's the end of the actual series. Yes. And so he is a mortal. He is a mortal. He's embracing that well.
00:11:06
Speaker
He's inherited the sub shop, which he's expanded into a thriving multi-billion dollar franchise. He lives a lavish lifestyle on a yacht. Wow.
00:11:17
Speaker
You go, Max. know. Go Max. And that's where those guys are now, but like, for real. But like for real. Okay. Luck of the Irish is the next movie.
Kyle's Educational Impact
00:11:28
Speaker
I picked Kyle Johnson, the main character with the wicked basketball skills and the Irish roots.
00:11:34
Speaker
um He actually returned to his very own high school to be their history teacher and basketball coach. And he wears a kilt every St. Patrick's Day. And he gets made fun of, but he makes sure that people understand the importance of knowing your culture. Wow.
00:11:51
Speaker
Yeah. Short and sweet. That's where Kyle Johnson is now. Love it. All right. Next up, we have Upside Down Magic.
Bud's Magical Ventures
00:11:57
Speaker
And I, of course, chose Bud Skriff, played by Kyle Howard.
00:12:02
Speaker
The only character worth knowing. Please tell me where my dear sweet Bud is now. Bud has officially cornered the market on Magical Chaos Entertainment. Are you ready for this?
00:12:13
Speaker
Yeah. He built an enchanted escape room empire called Bud's Bewildering Breakouts, boasting attractions like Escape the Lava Lamp Dimension...
00:12:24
Speaker
Yeah. He also hosts a weekly live stream called Oops Magic, where he tests experimental spells with wildly unpredictable results.
00:12:35
Speaker
And last season's highlight was him turning his co-host into a talking cactus who now has a bigger social following than him. That's where Bud is. Yes. Yes to all of that. thought you were going to lean into the music where you were going be like, he had a thriving singing career.
00:12:51
Speaker
This is better than all of that. This is way better. Yeah, no. Because I figure music is not his talent. It's his like magical ability. So he's just going to use that in his day to day life. And it doesn't need to become a career for him.
00:13:04
Speaker
You know, I am so in love with that. And now, weirdly, so I want to rewatch Upside Down Magic, which is never a feeling I've had before in my life. No, you don't. Just just keep keep going with your day and let that feeling fade. You don't want someone to make an edit where it's just his parts so I can watch the movie that's just his parts.
00:13:23
Speaker
Oh, yeah, that would be good. OK. Yeah. All right. What movie's next?
Emily's Leadership in Nonprofits
00:13:27
Speaker
We got Den Brother. So I did not pick the main character. Instead, I decided to pick little sister Emily.
00:13:34
Speaker
Yes. Okay. So she grew up to be just as organized and driven as you would expect. um This movie came out in 2010. And so she's still very young. She's in her early 20s.
00:13:47
Speaker
um And she is majoring in nonprofit management at James Madison University. She hopes to run. Yeah, I know. Alma mater. I was like, what's a good school for this? Oh, I know.
00:14:00
Speaker
um She hopes to run her own national leadership conference for young women, which she is starting to gather the ideas and funds for while she's still in college.
00:14:11
Speaker
Oh, love it. Good for her. I know. And she'll be great. That one feels the most like grounded. That feels the most like one that we would actually have on the show. Right. Sounds right, doesn't it?
00:14:22
Speaker
Yeah, it does. All right. Next up, we have Brink!
Andy's Therapeutic Turnaround
00:14:26
Speaker
exclamation point And I chose Andy Brink Brinker, played by Eric Von Dutton. Mm-hmm. Yeah. He's fine.
00:14:33
Speaker
ah So, Andy, finally... I'm sorry, Brink. Brink finally hung up his rollerblades after injuring his back at age 20, attempting to do a flip that he really should have stopped doing at 16. Mm-hmm.
00:14:45
Speaker
That injury kind of triggered a deep identity crisis for him since he thought this was going to be his career. And that compounded by years of unresolved tension with his dad just led to this like huge crisis in his 20s.
00:14:58
Speaker
But through therapy and hard work, Brink found healing and purpose again. And today he is a compassionate family therapist who helps others navigate the complicated relationships that once challenged him.
00:15:10
Speaker
That's very hopeful. Do you know where I thought you were going with this? Jail. I thought injury to like Percocet addiction or I don't even know if Percocets are, I don't know anything about drugs, some type of painkiller addiction to um dealing drugs to children to jail is where I thought you were going with this.
00:15:29
Speaker
I mean, that was my second choice. i I was brainstorming and in my brainstorm, I put jail question mark. Jail question mark. But I guess he turned it around and now he's a therapist. So good for him. Yeah.
00:15:41
Speaker
I decided we're going to use this for good.
00:15:45
Speaker
It wouldn't be a where are they now if one person wasn't in jail, right? Yeah. Maybe the secret other side of things is like he ends up in jail anyways. Yeah. He's selling drugs to his patients.
00:15:58
Speaker
That checks. Okay. Yep. Modification. He's in jail now for selling drugs to his patients. Asterix in jail now. Okay.
00:16:07
Speaker
We really didn't like that movie. We we did not. Okay. Next we have Now You See It dot dot dot.
Danny's Hidden Fame
00:16:15
Speaker
So at the end of the movie, Danny went into hiding.
00:16:18
Speaker
The scary magician society was trying to track him down. At the park. You don't know what park. That's called In Hiding.
00:16:29
Speaker
So ah the Scary Magician Society was trying to track him down. So he did his little disappearing act. But just a few years later, he returned on the scene by running his own YouTube channel and TikTok account with Allison surfing as producer, showing off some of his tricks, most of which people claimed were edited or just really good AI.
00:16:50
Speaker
But we know the truth. He's a real magician. Anyway. Eventually, he made it big. He was invited to headline his own show in Vegas, which he did successfully for five years.
00:17:01
Speaker
It was a financial success, a review success. Everyone loved it. He and Allison got married in 2019. And they just had their first baby. Wow.
00:17:12
Speaker
So cute. He has been the subject of a million different documentaries, all of which claim that he must be a real magician because like, how does he do all these things? Or try to debunk him by saying he's using like deep fake AI something. i don't know.
00:17:28
Speaker
um But so far, no one has been able to prove it. And Danny is obsessed with keeping up the mystery. And he is slowly retreating into the background to be more of a family man, but it's just growing the legend that is Danny.
00:17:43
Speaker
Whoa. oh chilling. You made me like it. Yeah, I know I did because it's a great movie and there should have been a sequel. And he'll be starring in Now You See Me 3.
00:17:56
Speaker
Love it. Very nice. Very nice. That one was detailed. i like all the details. Thank you. I was really in it. Yeah, i could I could tell that one was maybe your favorite, perhaps. ah You know, Ryan, I think High School Musical 2 was my favorite.
00:18:11
Speaker
But now you see it was very close. You can tell which characters mean a lot to me. Yes, I can. I love it. I love it so much. Okay. So I had the Even Stevens movie, thank
Louis Stevens' Tech Empire
00:18:21
Speaker
goodness.
00:18:21
Speaker
And I chose Louis Stevens, obviously. ah played by Shia LaBeouf. Yeah, I would not have been respectful had i gotten that one. so I'm glad you got that one. Yeah, yeah. Well, it's not exactly respectful, but it's funny.
00:18:36
Speaker
Here we go. okay So Lewis turned his knack for engineering and schemes into a tech genius. ah He founded Stevens Tech, a billion-dollar startup known for wildly unpredictable apps like NapNap, which tracks the perfect nap spots, and Snack Attack, a smart vending machine that recommends snacks based on your mood.
00:18:58
Speaker
so Okay, listen, Gabby, if you invent those two things, you will be a billionaire.
00:19:05
Speaker
Maybe will. love nap nap. As a nap enthusiast, I love nap nap. There you go. Well, I guess I have to do it now. nap, nap app? Oh my gosh. Wait, okay. Oh, oh. We just with something here. Somebody get out there.
00:19:18
Speaker
Somebody has to do this. It should be us. ah So despite running one of the fastest growing startups in the Silicon Valley, Lewis deliberately still lives at home because as he puts it, why pay rent when mom's cooking is free and there's always something to blame when things go wrong?
00:19:36
Speaker
Wow. And how do his parents feel about that? Oh, they hate it, but they can't get rid of him. He just keeps giving them money. And they're like, well, I guess, I guess you can stay. They're like, yeah, we have to remodel the bathroom. So might as well give him another year. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:19:52
Speaker
I guess, well, he's not paying rent. That's what I said. So I guess he's not giving them money for that. He's giving them extravagant gifts. A gift remodel of the bathroom. There you go. All right. Last one for me. We've got Zombies 2.
Eliza: The Zombie Senator
00:20:05
Speaker
um And I should mention, we have not seen the other Zombies movies. There are more. But I'm just going off of as if Zombies 2 was the last one. Okay? Okay. Fair. So I picked Eliza, the girl who should have run for high school president in place of Z. But it's fine.
00:20:21
Speaker
um Speaking of which, though, she did totally run the next year and she won. She went um to run for various public offices over the years until making it so far as to be America's first zombie senator. Wow.
00:20:36
Speaker
And just a few months ago, she gave a TED talk titled Undead and Unheard Overcoming Speciesism in America. And it has three million views on YouTube. Wow. That's such a good title.
00:20:49
Speaker
Thank you. I thought really hard about that one and I'm proud of it. It's really good. That's where she is. Okay. Give us the last movie of the season, Cheetah Girls 2.
Galleria's Musical Legacy
00:20:58
Speaker
What do you have? All right. Yes.
00:21:00
Speaker
So I chose Galleria, played by Raven-Symoné. Obviously. So Galleria Garibaldi is now an award-winning music producer, director, and unapologetic creative powerhouse. She runs her own global entertainment company called Growl Power Studios.
00:21:16
Speaker
What?
00:21:19
Speaker
yeah after powering yeah after conquering broadway mentoring young artists and launching a line of motivational cat- themmed planners she had become a household name
00:21:34
Speaker
She's a household name in the world of pop culture with a reputation for both excellence and drama. ah She is still in touch with the Cheetah Girls, though it's mainly through a group chat that is a lot of sparkly memes, chaotic voice notes, and a shared Google Doc titled Tor... question mark, question mark, question mark, that has not been updated since 2019. Oh, oh, you didn't have to give me that last part. That hurts my feelings.
00:21:58
Speaker
I'm sorry. The rest of that, delightful. Yep, yep. Wow. that's where they might be now. Yes.
Conclusion and Audience Engagement
00:22:06
Speaker
oh Guys, thank you so much for listening to this episode. we We had a blast.
00:22:11
Speaker
I had the best time. Yours were really good, like a plus Oh, yours were really good. Yours were A++. plus plus We could just sit here complimenting each other back and forth. No, you're the best.
00:22:22
Speaker
um Let us know what your favorite Where Are They Now was. And next week, we are going to be back with another mini-sode, part two of our DCOM Oscars. Very excited.
00:22:34
Speaker
Also, if you have ideas for where you think a character is now, I'd love to hear it. Leave a comment. Yes. And do you think Andy Brink Brinker is selling drugs to kids? Let us know. Okay. See you next time. Bye.
00:22:46
Speaker
Bye.