I think you do have to look at the story through one of the lenses of literary criticism in order to find deeper meaning. In many ways, it is just a funny story to tell children, and it's more than fine to leave it at that. Personally, I think a lot of "meaning" found in it comes from viewing it in it's historical context; the narrative completely subverts the style of children's stories at the time. There's no moral truth demonstrated or revealed, no lesson to be learned, no characters who function as paragons for admirable/detestable qualities, and so forth. Historically, it's a marked departure and new direction for children's literature, and derives importance from that. Past that, Alice in Wonderland (to me, anyway), does an incredible job of reflecting the absurdity of real life in a way that literature often doesn't. Who are the heroes/villains and why is it so hard to tell? Why does it seem that no matter how hard I try, I'm still stuck where I am? Why did I decide to chase this rabbit in the first place, and where is it taking me? These sorts of questions have real-life parallels, and when taken in that regard, the story becomes a fantasy retelling of real life.