Alongside co-writer Matthew Jacobs, Allers formulated the idea for "Kingdom of the Sun", in which development on the project began in 1994. Upon pitching the project to then-Disney CEO and chairman Michael Eisner, Allers recalled Eisner saying "it has all of the elements of a classic Disney film," and because of his directorial success on "The Lion King" that same year, Eisner allowed Allers to have free rein with both the casting and the storyline. In January 1995, "Variety" reported that Allers was working on "an Inca-themed original story". In 1996, the production crew traveled to Machu Picchu in Peru, to study Inca artifacts and architecture and the landscape this empire was created in.