For those of us who remember the 90s, we're going on a trip down memory lane. Think back to cherry Lip Smackers, glittery Caboodles cases, and everything being purple. So much purple. And pinned inside your middle school locker were Tiger Beat clippings of an assortment of imaginary boyfriends: Devon Sawa, any of the Hanson brothers, and Mario Lopez. But one teen crush ruled above them all: Jonathan Taylor Thomas, also affectionately known as JTT.
Zoe Kravtiz gave us the ultimate throwback on her Instagram, when she posted a gallery of JTT photos. Puzzlingly, she managed to find several photos of the Home Improvement heartthrob posing with animals. He's holding various puppies, cats, and is even making friends with a turtle. It reminds us of how the 90s teen idols were constantly holding cute animals — perhaps to show off their softer side? Make them look more wholesome? To endear them to teen girls' parents? Who knows, but Kravitz definitely brought attention to that odd convention. "Ok, this kid had a formula ... im on to u..." she writes, referencing the animals. "In the 90s were like we loveeeeee JTT. We don’t know why. We can’t explain it..... Getting older and seeing things clearly is hard man."
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What was about Thomas that pre-teen and teen girls couldn't get enough of? Was it his wispy bowl cut? His soft smile? We don't remember Home Improvement being, well, life-changing television, so it couldn't have been his acting skills.
In 2013, Thomas told People magazine that he appreciated his time off from Hollywood. "I wanted to go to school, to travel, and have a bit of a break," he said. After Thomas left the Tiger Beat world, he attended Columbia and Harvard University. "To sit in a big library amongst books and students, that was pretty cool." We're wondering if he misses those puppies.