Eh, the original Jabberwocky poem was accompanied by a Tenniel illustration that looked similar to Burton's Jabberwock. So it had an actual form from the beginning. IMO the first movie was very nice, and has maybe my favorite film score by Danny Elfman, who is my favorite composer. So that's saying something. (Seriously, Alice's Theme is such an incredible piece of work.)
So I'm very excited for Alice Through the Looking Glass, not only because of its connection to the previous film which I loved, but because Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are two of my favorite books ever. They're really wonderful (like you said, no pun intended).