Thora Birch Birch appeared in the fantasy comedy "Hocus Pocus" (1993) at the age of 10, opposite Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker. The film saw her play the younger sister of a teenage boy who inadvertently resurrects a villainous trio of witches. "Hocus Pocus" rated average with reviewers and made a modest US$39 million in the US, but became a cult film due to strong DVD sales and large television following. In the 1994 comedy "Monkey Trouble", Birch portrayed a girl who adopts a Capuchin monkey trained to pick pockets and burglarize houses. The movie had a mixed reception,
Jessica Lange for her performance in the film. In 1998, she starred opposite Elisabeth Shue in a film adaptation of Balzac's "Cousin Bette", for which she received strong reviews. That same year, Lange also starred opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in the somewhat cult classic, "Hush", which generally received negative reviews. Roger Ebert, however, praised Lange's performance, commenting, "The film's most intriguing element is the performance by Jessica Lange, who by not going over the top provides Martha with a little pathos to leaven the psychopathology." Lange received strong reviews for her performance in "Titus", Julie Taymor's 1999 adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus",