Starting with this cartoon, Bluto was redesigned to appear more muscular compared to his previous appearances
With the advent of radio broadcasts like "Hawaii Calls" and the popularity of Hawaiian athlete Duke Kahanamoku, all things from the South Seas had become fascinating to American cinema audiences, as shown here. And WW2's Pacific ports would bring even more attention to the region.
Although alligators and crocodiles did not live in Polynesia, they'd been popularly featured in Disney's "Fantasia" two years prior. Alligator and crocodile skin accessories were (sadly) also in high demand at the time of this short.
The film Aloma of the South Seas, released in 1926 and remade in 1941, was parodied in this short, both in title and plotline.