Early on in the film we’re introduced to Mirabel’s cousin, Camilo Madrigal (Rhenzy Feliz), who was born with the ability to shapeshift. During breakfast one morning, Camilo uses his power to shapeshift into his other cousin Dolores (Adassa) so he can return for seconds. His father, Felix (Mauro Castillo), catches him and tells him to put the food back, so Camilo turns back to his normal form and says, “worth a shot!”
It’s a brief moment of levity that has nothing to do with the rest of the scene, but director Jared Bush recently revealed on Twitter that the line was a reference to Maui’s “worth a shot” joke in “Moana.” Specifically, Bush stated that the line was a nod to brothers Aaron and Jordan Kandell, who originally wrote the joke in “Moana” while working alongside Bush himself.
In “Moana,” Maui (Dwayne Johnson) says the line after tossing Moana into the water in an attempt to get rid of her, only for her to magically reappear back atop their little raft. The reference even goes beyond just the repeated line, as both Maui and Camilo are portrayed as mischievous shapeshifters who use their powers for petty reasons. In any case, it’s a neat little callback to another fantastic film from Disney, and one which is so subtle that we doubt anyone would have found it without Bush’s help.