Henry Gayden, the screenwriter and creator of the film's concept, had modeled Echo similar to an owl because he and the team wanted the alien to be small enough that I can hold it with hands like a baby owl. Alex had named the little guy Echo because he imitated sounds. The boys communicated with Echo learning that he had been shot down by people from Earth and they only wanted to rebuild a spaceship to return home. So this is where the kids find a helper who is Echo. Although they are the ones who help Echo build a ship to leave Earth, it is Echo who helps them in their quest to find pieces of the device that was. The echo was why all the phones were throwing up. Echo made the kids' phones have the ability to locate the parts of the device and be able to see them using the camera because it was injured. Echo also had the ability to break metal and put it back together, which helps children survive a car that could have been life-threatening.