Ome Henk

Ome Henk ("Uncle Henk") is the main character of a Dutch CD, DVD and comic series of the same name. The Ome Henk CDs consist of stories which depend on dialogue and sound effects, and songs, some of which are parodies. Ome Henk is a character created and performed by actor Frank van der Plas (born 20 May 1960, Amsterdam). He is portrayed as a cranky, unemployed, and often aggressive old man living in the fictitious town of Biggeveen, which is full of other obnoxious, feeble-minded and otherwise extraordinary characters. The stories on the Ome Henk CDs highlight these various personalities and build up to many painful and embarrassing situations. The sketches have an absurd, caricatural character, and traditionally end with an explosion. Ome Henk's songs are about daily nuisances and other topics of interest to a grouchy old man. They're built upon (sometimes rapped) couplets and refrains and often feature a lively crowd, cheering and singing along. This makes the songs very suitable for après-ski and carnival parties. While his music and sketches form the most important part of his body of work, Ome Henk and his neighbors also appear in cartoons drawn by cartoonist Eric Schreurs and in live comedic sketches. His most well-known song internationally might be Opblaaskrokodil (Inflatable crocodile), because of its use in the animutation French Erotic Film. In the Netherlands, five of his singles reached the Dutch Top 40, including: Op de camping (a parody of In the Navy by the Village People), and Mambo nr 6 (a parody of Mambo No. 5 by Lou Bega).