I read that most of the Phoenix story in the movie is Jean recalling her life as a little girl - that's what the comic story was, right?
i don't know. i'm staying spoiler free. i haven't even seen the trailer yet. i want to be surprised.
I don't know how the cartoon relates to the comic but in the cartoon that is nothing like the Phoenix saga.
In the cartoon, they are travelling in their space ship (of course) but they're going to have to pass through the sun (why?) One of the x-men has to wear a special suit and pilot the ship while the rest can go back into the special compartment where they won't become fried. So, Jean is the one who flies the ship through the sun.
In the sun there is this entity, the Phoenix, for some reason. It attaches itself to Jean. I think its supposed to be guarding some kind of crystal and was trapt there by the Shi'ar empire (the queen of which is like..the girlfriend of the Professor).
Sometimes the Phoenix is good and sometimes the Phoenix is bad. THe Shi'ar want to kill the Phoenix. Jean faints a lot and goes "Oooh Scott!" and I have no idea how it all resolves itself.
it was a solar storm... they flew through beacuse the ship was nearly falling apart.. and the solar radaition destoryed the mental block professor X had put in jean greys mind.. and that unleashed the phoenix within her.
from my geek comic knowledge of old.
it's all so confusing