“Grow,” director John McPhail’s follow-up to his hit “Anna and the Apocalypse,” releases Friday, Oct. 17. The family-friendly comedy centers on a fiercely competitive pumpkin contest in a small village. Charlie, a young orphan, arrives to live with her aunt on a farm. When she learns that their neighbors have dominated the competition for years, she decides they’ll give it their best shot — hoping to win and make a name for her aunt’s farm.

McPhail designed the film with families in mind, drawing inspiration from his own childhood movie-watching memories — experiences he hopes to one day share with his future children.

“I grew up watching films like ‘The Goonies,’ ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,’ ‘E.T.’ and ‘Short Circuit,'” he said. “I wanted to create that proper family experience — something for the kids, something for the adults and something that would stay with them.”

When McPhail first read the script — written more than 15 years ago by Nick Guthe, Christos N. Gage, Ruth Fletcher Gage, Mark Huckerby, and Nick Ostler and originally set in the United States — he “fell in love with the characters right away.”

“There was so much heart in this, and so much joy,” he said. “There’s a lot of depressing things, you know, and there’s something to be said about spreading a bit of joy.”

The film stars Golda Rosheuvel (“Bridgerton,” “Dune”), Nick Frost (“Hot Fuzz,” “How to Train Your Dragon”), Priya Rose-Brookwell (“The Lazarus Project”) and Dominic McLaughlin, recently cast as the new Harry Potter in HBO’s upcoming reboot series.

“Dominic had never acted before — at least not in front of a camera,” McPhail said. “He was great. He’s such a good kid, and he’s really clever. You just need to tell him once, and he takes it in and does it. He just has such a natural ability.”

Priya, who plays Charlie, was equally impressive. McPhail described her as remarkably professional for her age.

“She was nine when we made this film. She’s just incredible,” he said. “She never got too tired, never huffy, never crying, never took a stop. She was the ultimate professional.”

Although the film includes playful nods to classic horror favorites such as “Psycho,” the family-friendly story features only one moment of “violence” — directed entirely toward a pumpkin. McPhail said he loved how the scene resonated differently with adults and kids.

“Honestly, sitting in cinemas and watching test audiences — the parents are laughing, then they notice the kids terrified, and they’re laughing harder. And … it’s just a pumpkin!” he said.

McPhail said the strong chemistry among the cast shines through in the final cut. The film’s visual design, particularly the handcrafted pumpkin characters, also received special attention. He praised designer Jamie Lapsley for her intricate and creative work, bringing the pumpkins to life.

“There were no egos on this set,” McPhail said. “It was the most fun set I’ve ever had in my entire life. There was so much fun that none of the cast wanted to go to the trailers. They just wanted to stay on set all the time — even when it was raining — just to be around the crew.”

Despite his growing reputation, McPhail stays grounded in his purpose.

“When I made this movie, I made it for audiences. It’s for people. It’s not my art — ‘Oh, I suffer for it,'” he said with a laugh. “All I wanted to do was have fun and, as I say, have that opportunity to scare the life out of children while their parents laugh. You don’t get to do that very often.”

“Grow,” directed by John McPhail and starring Golda Rosheuvel (“Bridgerton,” “Dune”), Nick Frost (“Hot Fuzz,” “How to Train Your Dragon”), Priya Rose-Brookwell (“The Lazarus Project”) and Dominic McLaughlin (“Harry Potter”), releases Oct. 17 through Fathom Entertainment.

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