Tito, a big, brassy entrepreneur, was a bit of a stretch for actor Michael Pena, who voices the character in the DreamWorks Animation movie “Turbo.” The experience was liberating, though, for the Chicago native whose on-screen credits include feature films and television.

The main storyline of “Turbo,” which features the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, encompasses a garden snail who yearns to stretch beyond his sluggish existence in the San Fernando Valley. Like-minded Tito encounters Theo and they set off on an adventure that ultimately leads them to “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“Turbo,” a wonderful tale about achieving your dreams no matter how impossible they seem, is distributed by 20th Century Fox. It opens in theaters July 17. The U.S. premiere is July 9 in New York, while a Canadian premiere is July 11 in Toronto at the outset of the Honda Indy Toronto race weekend.

Pena developed the personna of the Los Angeles-based character who peddles tacos with his brother but – like the title character Theo – has big dreams.

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“(Tito) loves life and the adventures of life,” said Pena, who was the honorary starter for the 97th Indianapolis 500 in May. “He and his brother have big dreams; they want to do something more in life much like Theo. We were trying to find the character first and not make it cheesy. What I wound up having to do is act out everything in order for it to make sense in the real world. Then I would get ideas based on what I was doing and we would riff raff.”

Pena gained the freedom to emote as the depth of the character and his rapport with others broadened. His character provides some of the comedy in the film.

“For me, when I do my best acting it’s mainly imagination,” Pena said. “Then I really have a lot of fun with it. I’m not really a method actor, but if I believe in this imaginary world then I can tap into some cool things. It lent itself to that.

“I felt like I had to be a little bigger. I don’t think I would do this kind of acting in film, but it definitely works in voiceover.

“(Director David Soren and company) asked me if I could sing and I said, ‘No.’ And they said, ‘Perfect.’ People are going to be laughing in the wrong spots, I think, when I’m trying to do my ‘American Idol’ moment.”

“Some people came in and did a really honest, low-key performance but it really doesn’t work here.”

Soren agreed. Click it: Dream comes true for director, too

“The characters have to pop off the screen,” he said. “What I found interesting working with Michael on the movie is trying to find who this character was, and the first couple of sessions we were just figuring out what the best approach would be. We culled all that material and found the character in it.

“The character of Tito has emerged as this super charming, funny, come-from-behind star of the show.”