TFP Headcanon time!
You know how, in Rescue Bots, Optimus Prime mentions having read human books, and loving The Little Engine That Could?
He DEFINITELY adores Horton Hears a Who.
Like, think about it: It's about a character who finds a tiny, fragile planet full of tiny people who need help, and he just wants to rescue them while everyone around him (like the Decepticons) wants to destroy it, simply because they don't understand.
"A person's a person no matter how small" would vibe with him so hard, because he's basically in the same situation protecting Earth and humans.
He even says something similar in "Scrapheap" when Arcee is making fun of Bulkhead for being big.
And the ending where all the animals finally hear the Whos and change their ways is Optimus's dream of how he wishes the war would end. He's so kind, he perceives the Decepticons (especially Megatron) as "not understanding" the value of Earth, rather than understanding but not caring.













