Originally, the movie was called Kingdom of the Sun, and it was basically The Prince and the Pauper crossed with a cool-ass Incan epic. The big bad was the shadow god Supai who gets imprisoned underground by the sun god Inti, sent to Earth by Viracocha, the head honcho of Incan mythology. The movie would have been about defeating him and his servant Yzma (Eartha Kitt) while also exploring the importance of llamas in Inca culture cause it would still involve an emperor getting turned into the South American giraffe-sheep. The finale would see an entire city coming together to lasso Inti, aka THE LITERAL SUN, down to Earth so he could crash Supai.
So Incan culture wasn’t just a random backdrop here; it played a pivotal role in the narrative, driving it forward while also educating people about a part of the world they know little about. It was basically Moana 16 years before Moana since one of the best parts of that movie were all the nods to and facts about Polynesian culture and beliefs.
Kingdom of the Sun was also supposed to have a romance that unfolded slowly over the course of in-movie days/weeks, which, yeah, isn’t that rare nowadays in animated movies, but 20 years ago, the idea was downright revolutionary. I also feel it vital to mention that Yzma was meant to be much hornier cause that’s how you show respect to Eartha goddamn Kitt.