Star Wars: The Mandalorian Sound Designers Reveals the Animals Used for Baby Yoda’s Voice

It’s been a month since Star Wars: The Mandalorian ended its first season on Disney+, but fascination with the series’ star has certainly not waned. We mean, of course, Baby Yoda aka The Child as the creature is called in the series. The adorable creature continues to be the center of many memes, new merchandise and just general interest in various behind-the-scenes details on how the character was brought to life. The latest detail about Baby Yoda comes from Star Wars sound designers who are revealing just how they gave the character his distinctive and adorable voice with various animal sounds.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sound editors David Acord and Matthew Wood explained that creating Baby Yoda’s voice ended up a combination of animal sounds from a wildlife rescue near San Diego and the vocalizations of a real, human baby.

“I was recording animals at this wildlife rescue outside of San Diego,” Accord said. “Two of the animals I recorded had this really cute, almost childlike quality to them. One was a bat-eared fox and one is a kinkajou.” Baby Yoda’s initial vocal was made up of only those two creatures.”

“Then Jon Favreau thought that they needed to be more human-sounding or something a little more relatable,” he explained. “We dialed way back on the animal part, and now that’s just there for little grunts and coos and purring. We used some real baby vocals for when [The Child] gets really fussy and that kind of thing. Then I have some of my own vocal in there, too, for more of the articulated vocalizations, pitched way up. So it’s a combination of things.”

That mix ultimately gave Baby Yoda its distinctive, precious voice something that helps complete the overall cuteness package that is the character. And while Baby Yoda is just a puppet, that cuteness is apparently too much to resist in real life as well, at least according to Emily Swallow who plays The Armorer.

“I mean, that was ridiculous, because like you know that it’s not real, but it really is just as cute in person,” Swallow told ComicBook.com. “I was so, so happy that I got to be in a scene with him, and I had no idea though, the kind of impact it would have, and I didn’t think, I mean, everything was so secretive around filming it. I didn’t really know everything that had gone on with him in the episodes that I wasn’t in, but I was super-excited that I got to be the one to reveal the stuff about the Jedi and where he might have come from.”

“And so, I got to revel in the cuteness and also feel cool, because I got to reveal some good information,” she added.

The entire first season of The Mandalorian is streaming on Disney+ and Season 2 will arrive later this year.