Why did Disney go with shorts instead of a full fledged

Possibly because they gave it a hard night's sleep and realized that the very idea of the Descendants is supremely retarded, and that shorts were a way to keep from drawing attention to this.

>>83559232
>Possibly because they gave it a hard night's sleep and realized that the very idea of the Descendants is supremely retarded

That doesn't explain why they've expanded the series and continue to expand it? Best selling book that is genuinely good, shame the film was shit, just came out with another Descendants book, doll line, fashion line, toy line, a second live action film coming soon...

>>83559183
Because the franchise is not the High School Musical/Ever After High they were banking on. Do you see any girls wearing Descendants clothing or stores selling Descendants crap? I have never, & I bet it's rare if anything.

>>83559735
They planned the shorts before they really launched the franchise, though, so they had no way of determining its success.

Though

>best-selling book(s)
>toy line
>fashion+accessories lines (which I only really see at the Disney Store, though)
>film was a huge ratings success, second film on the way

I'd wager it's because most of the cast are busy doing mostly Disney related projects or branching out and can't commit to a full series.

>>83559183
>>83559910

Most likely because the show was made to compete with Monster High/Ever After High. Which are web-shorts except for the occasional movie or specials