"Monsters Inc" and "Up" creator Pete Docter presented a medal to "Barking Orders," which playfully imagines Queen Elizabeth's favorite dog breed bent on global domination, at the annual ceremony held by the Oscar-awarding Academy.

"Nuking France wasn't exactly a popular thought in the pitch room -- they had a couple issues with that one," joked animation silver medal winner Alexander Tullo, at a show held online for a second year due to the pandemic.

The Student Academy Awards are a key program of the Hollywood film industry's top body, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Gold awards went to films on hard-hitting topics such as apartheid South Africa ("When The Sun Sets"), Korean wartime "comfort women" ("Unforgotten") and the environmental challenges facing Californian beekeepers ("When They're Gone").

Past student winners have included Docter, Spike Lee, "Back To The Future" filmmaker Robert Zemeckis and "No Time To Die" director Cary Fukunaga.

The Oscars are due to take place March 27, a month later than previously scheduled, due to the pandemic.