Development began in 1994, when the film was conceived as a musical epic titled "Kingdom of the Sun". Following his directorial debut with "The Lion King" (1994), Roger Allers recruited English musician Sting to compose several songs for the film. Because of the underwhelming box office performances of "Pocahontas" (1995) and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996), Dindal was brought in as co-director to make the film more comedic. Because of poor test screenings, creative differences with Dindal and production falling behind schedule, Allers departed, and the film became a lighthearted comedy instead of a dramatic musical. A documentary, "The Sweatbox" (2002), details the production troubles that "The Emperor's New Groove" endured during its six years of development.