George Scribner, who had directed Oliver & Company (1988), was the initial director of the film,[26] being later joined by Roger Allers, who was the lead story man on Beauty and the Beast (1991).[12][17] Allers worked with Scribner and Woolverton on the project, but temporarily left the project to help rewrite Aladdin (1992). Eight months later, Allers returned to the project,[27][28] and brought Brenda Chapman and Chris Sanders with him.[29] In October 1991, several of the lead crew members, including Allers, Scribner, Chapman, Sanders, and Lisa Keene visited Hell's Gate National Park in Kenya, in order to study and gain an appreciation of the environment for the film.[30][31] After six months of story development work, Scribner decided to leave the project upon clashing with Allers and the producers over their decision to turn the film into a musical, since Scribner's intention was of making a documentary-like film more focused on natural aspects.[17][26] By April 1992, Rob Minkoff had replaced Scribner as the new co-director.[10][29]