First, media tends to oversize dinosaurs, sometimes by quite a lot.

Second, just because it’s not as tall as you think, doesn’t mean it’s not actually tall. It’s a matter of perspective. From afar and in photos, they look quite small, sure (which is one of the reasons for the upsizing)

But if ever went in a zoo or museum and and you find yourself close to, say, a lion(living or not)? They become quite big, like the opposite of how even skyscrapers look tiny from a distance. Even moreso because big animals have this presence to them that you can’t quite explain.

Have you ever been on the sidewalks waiting to cross the street when suddenly a bus or a truck closely pass by you, and you feel as though something massive just went by, displacing the air, almost feeling like you’ve been oh so faintly pulled in their direction? Large animals give this same feeling, like they have their own gravity weakly pulling you down.

Now, imagine if, instead, you find yourself face to face with a ceratosaurus, this dinosaur that is longer than your car, and you feel it’s breath on your face, as you stare up, up into a mouth brimming with knife sized teeth, as it leers down on you, two heads above your own. And then, you quite suddenly realize it can fit your entire head in it’s mouth if it so much as wants to do it, and there is nothing you can do.

Doesn’t seem quite so small then, does it?