Now her memory is preserved forever 😭
When audiences watched the science fiction adventure Project Hail Mary, many were captivated by the unexpected friendship between astronaut and scientist Ryland Grace and Rocky, a mysterious, rocklike alien.
Their bond became one of the movie’s most emotional elements, proving that friendship can exist even between two beings from completely different worlds.
But hidden within one particularly heartbreaking scene is a touching secret that most viewers would never have guessed.
One of Rocky’s emotional sounds actually came from a tiny rescue Chihuahua named Little, whose own story of survival and love was just as extraordinary.
And for the man who helped bring Rocky’s voice to life, including that sound in the movie meant more than words could express.
Erik Aadahl, the talented sound editor behind Project Hail Mary, has spent years creating unforgettable sounds for some of Hollywood’s biggest productions.
His work often involves combining unusual recordings to produce sounds that don’t exist in the real world.
For example, while working on Godzilla in 2014, Aadahl helped create the monster’s terrifying roar using a surprising mixture of sounds, including dry ice interacting with metal, donkey vocalizations, and plants scraping against concrete.
But his most meaningful recordings don’t always come from elaborate experiments or exotic sources.
Sometimes, they come from his own pets.
“I sneak one of my animals, one of my pets, into [every] movie,” Aadahl shared on Instagram.
Watch Erik Aadahl explain his special sound-design tradition
Years before working on Project Hail Mary, Aadahl and his wife welcomed a very special little dog into their lives.
Her name was Little, and her journey began under heartbreaking circumstances.
“Little is a little Chihuahua that my wife found on the street,” Aadahl recalled. “She was only a few weeks old, she was really injured, she was missing one eye.”
The tiny puppy was incredibly vulnerable when she was discovered, but Aadahl and his wife were determined to give her the chance at life she deserved.
They took her in and patiently helped her recover, surrounding her with the care and affection she desperately needed.
Slowly, Little grew stronger.
And as she settled into her new home, her personality began to shine.
Despite her difficult beginning, Little was full of life. She also had a particularly unusual talent that would eventually make her part of something much bigger.
She made the most fascinating little noises.
From soft whimpers to distinctive vocalizations, Little seemed to have an entire collection of sounds that caught Aadahl’s attention.
“She was kind of a gold mine of sounds,” he said.
As a professional sound designer, Aadahl immediately recognized something special in his tiny companion’s voice.
Whenever Little made an interesting sound, he would stop whatever he was doing and capture it in a recording.
At the time, he had no idea exactly where those sounds might end up.
He simply knew they were worth saving.
Over the years, he kept the recordings, hoping the perfect opportunity to use them would eventually come along.
And then he began working on Project Hail Mary.
The movie presented an unusual challenge: creating a believable voice for Rocky, an alien whose sounds needed to communicate emotion despite being unlike ordinary human speech.
As Aadahl worked on Rocky’s vocalizations, he remembered a particular recording of Little.
It was a gentle, heartbreaking whimper she had made while waiting for Aadahl’s wife to return from a pet store.
The little dog had simply been missing someone she loved.
But that tiny expression of longing turned out to be exactly what one emotional scene needed.
“[T]here’s a scene where Rocky is suffering and collapses … and I thought, ‘I have to put Little into that last vocal for Rocky,’” Aadahl explained.
“That was her little whimper waiting for my wife to come out of the pet store buying some dog food.”
Hear the story behind Little’s contribution to Rocky’s voice
For most viewers, the sound is simply part of a dramatic moment in the movie.
But for Aadahl, it carries a deeply personal meaning.
That small whimper wasn’t just another sound effect.
It was the voice of a dog he and his wife had rescued, raised, and loved.
And by the time the movie reached audiences, Little was no longer with them.
The beloved Chihuahua had sadly passed away the previous year, leaving an enormous emptiness in her family’s hearts.
Losing her was devastating, but Aadahl still had the recordings he had collected throughout her life.
Her distinctive little voice had been preserved.
And now, through his work on Project Hail Mary, one of those recordings had become part of a movie seen by millions.
For Aadahl, the realization was overwhelming.
“I’m getting choked up just talking about it,” he admitted.
What makes Little’s contribution so touching is that she never knew how special her voice would become.
She was simply a small dog who loved her family, made funny noises, and sometimes whimpered when she missed the people closest to her.
Yet one of those ordinary moments became part of an extraordinary cinematic story.
Little’s life began on the street, where she was injured and vulnerable. Thanks to the kindness of Aadahl and his wife, she found a safe home filled with love.
And although her time with them eventually came to an end, a little piece of her will continue to live on through the movie.
Every time audiences watch Rocky’s emotional scene, they’ll hear a sound that once belonged to a tiny Chihuahua waiting patiently for her favorite person to return.
Most of them may never recognize it.
But Aadahl always will.
For him, that brief moment is more than a clever piece of sound design. It’s a lasting tribute to a beloved companion who brought joy, comfort, and unforgettable sounds into his life.
Little may have been a tiny dog with just one eye, but her voice has reached millions of people — and thanks to the family who loved her, it will continue to be heard for years to come.