'Finding Dory' Unveils The "Ultimate Pixar Easter Egg" For April Fool's Day

It's no secret Pixar loves slipping Easter eggs into its movies, and sometimes the animation studio gets so eager they even sneak in references to movies that haven't even opened yet. Case in point: while Hank the octopus, voiced by Ed O'Neill, is billed as one of the "new" characters of Finding Dory, he's really been hiding in plain sight for years. As a new video reveals, Hank's actually been part of the Pixar family going all the way back to Toy Story in 1995. Really!

... Except no, not really. As you've probably figured out by now, this "epic" Finding Dory Easter egg is really just an April Fool's prank. Still, the video does contain some (genuine) new footage featuring Hank and Dory, not to mention a little clip of O'Neill and director Andrew Stanton being just plain adorable. So if that sounds like the kind of thing you'd be interested in, swim with us below the jump. 

If you cover news on the internet, as we do — or really, if you're just a person on the internet, as you obviously are — April Fool's Day is a minefield of unfunny fake headlines. But it's hard to get too mad at Pixar when they're so endearing about it. Especially since it offers a new look at one of Finding Dory's potential breakout characters. Pixar describes the character as follows:

Ed O'Neill lends his iconic voice to Hank, who is an octopus. Actually, he's a "septopus": he lost a tentacle—along with his sense of humor—somewhere along the way. But Hank is just as competent as his eight-armed peers. An accomplished escape artist with camouflaging capabilities to boot, Hank is the first to greet Dory when she finds herself in the Marine Life Institute. But make no mistake: he's not looking for a friend. Hank is after one thing—a ticket on a transport truck to a cozy Cleveland facility where he'll be able to enjoy a peaceful life of solitude.

Finding Dory splashes into theaters June 17.